We use cookies to keep you signed in and to see what's working and what breaks. No advertising cookies, nothing sold. Details in our Cookie Policy.

Texas

Running a construction business in Texas

The parts of a Texas job that are neither the work nor the price. The documents a general contractor checks before the first invitation, the city registrations that change every time you cross a line on a map, and the trades that bid and build without a state licence at all.

Try this on a real business

Open a seeded business in your trade. Nine jobs on the pipeline, a quote sent and viewed, a deposit paid, and an invoice already overdue.

Open the demo business

No card, no form. Sign in later and everything you built stays on the same account.

6 guides on this

How to run the businessWhat an hour costs you in TexasTexas puts four lines on a payroll hour: Social Security, Medicare, FUTA after the state credit, and TWC unemployment on the first $9,000. A $30 hand costs $32.43 before workers comp, which Texas alone makes elective. Includes the billable-hour division and the 1099 crossover.How to run the businessTexas bid ready checklistTwelve documents stand between you and a vendor number at a Texas general contractor, and five of them cost nothing. Certificate of Formation, EIN, W-9, certificate of account status, ACORD 25 endorsements, the comp answer, city registration, bonding capacity and HUB, each with who issues it and how long it takes.How to run the businessIrrigation license: TCEQ, not TDLRLandscape irrigation is licensed by TCEQ, not TDLR, and that one wrong search costs people weeks. Three credentials, $111 each, valid three years, with no experience requirement. Texas leaves landscaping unregulated, so a licensed irrigator can sell work the crew next door legally cannot.How to run the businessRunning a 1099 crew in TexasTexas has no state wage withholding and workers comp is elective, so a crew of subs is the normal shape. The kit that holds it: W-9 before the first check, the COI you actually read, Labor Code s.406.123 and DWC Form-083, and the 1099-NEC at $2,000.How to run the businessTake the Texas hail workTexas hail is a repair market with a season, and the state's own rules favor the local crew. The deductible ban in Bus. & Com. Code 27.02, the Chapter 58 deposit exemption for a one-year local address, the three-day cancellation that voids a rival's paperwork, and the labor tax exemption after a declared disaster.How to run the businessRoofing in Texas without a licenseTexas issues no roofing license, so you can be quoting re-roofs this month. What actually gates the work is the WPI-8 certificate across 14 first-tier coastal counties, the ASTM D7158 Class H shingle spec, and city registration that runs from free in Austin to $120 a year in Dallas.

The rest of the Texas library

Texas contractor licensingBidding and prequalification in TexasPricing construction work in TexasGetting paid on Texas constructionTexas lien rights and deadlinesWorkers comp for Texas contractorsContractor insurance in TexasStarting a construction business in Texas
Every guideThe whole Texas libraryHow to run the business